The Marine Corps has coined the phrase “The Few. The Proud.” and in less than one month, senior Kolby Gengo will be one of these few when he departs for boot camp on June 6. He has been training hard every day for the past few months, making sure he is prepared for the long road ahead of even harder work to be completed within the Marine Corps.

“I joined the Marines because I wanted to be a part of something bigger than myself,” Gengo said. “I want to be a part of the brotherhood.”

“

I wanted to be a part of something bigger than myself.”

— Kolby Gengo

Marines are said to make lifelong friends with the ones they serve with and form a bond only servicemen can understand. Gengo comes from a family full of Marines, though, and said he has a pretty good idea of what he is becoming a part of.

“My Pawpaw was a Marine – so are my two cousins and my uncles,” Gengo said. “It’s a family thing. I want to try to make this a career. I’ll try to go 20 years, travel the world, go to new places I’ve never been and protect my country.”

Kolby’s family is already proud of him and very supportive of this decision – especially his mother, Sharon Gengo, who works at the high school.

“I’m really proud of him and how focused he is,” Gengo said. “He’s got his goals set, he’s got everything in place, and he’s ready to go.”

With as much as Kolby has been training (every day of the week except Saturday), his preparedness will surely pay off once he is officially in the Marines.

“

I’m really proud of him and how focused he is. ”

— Sharon Gengo

“His determination to be fit and ready to go is what has impressed me the most,” Gengo said. “He’s become a really good leader. The guys younger than him also training are looking up to him and he’s leading them and encouraging them, so he’s really grown up as a man.”

Sergeant Arceneaux, who recruited Gengo, said he sees full potential in Kolby being able to lead a patrol and believes he will go far in the Marines. Both Kolby and his mom said that he fully knows what he’s getting in to and that he has no “Hollywood expectations” of the Corps. For Gengo, this could be the start of a lifelong journey and he is excited and more than ready to take the first step.